What would YOU know about PAIN?
by Ryunn Kazan
Summary: Kabuto-an ex-asassin-has finally gotten the life he wanted, but a past incident is forbidding him to live it. Just when he thinks he's free, an old face shows up to make him repent for his dark deed, and she's not too understanding. KabutoXAnkoXOrochimaru, KabXGuren AU
1. Prologue: The first blood

That scent. The wrenching smell of blood was everywhere, but he was so accustomed to it that he couldn't tell it apart from other smells, such as good things like warm bread or ladies perfume. He could never shake the feel away. There wasn't a thing on earth that was as warm and sticky as blood as it stained the lines of your hands.

That blood, with its scent and undying feeling, was all around him now; in his skin, on his partner's clothes, and flowing from the man that they had shot.

Kabuto Yakushi, a trained assassin for almost three years now, let his gun hang down loosely at his side. His partner Orochimaru was already loading his again; that sick man never got sick of blowing the brains out of someone.

"There are still four more upstairs." He announced as if Kabuto didn't already know. "Now that papa rat is out of the way, it just leaves a woman and kids to take out."

Kabuto stared at him with a mixture of boredom and exhaustion. "Let's go then."

The two crept up the stairs, their guns poised to shoot at the slightest sound. Through the silent, a sound of some sort was heard from one of the rooms in the hallway, and Orochimaru motioned for Kabuto to stay put while he went to check it out.

Kabuto watched him snake to the each bedroom, standing at attention by the doorway before jumping into the room. He heard no shots, so it was clear that the rest of the family was not there. He let his guard down long enough to clean the specks of blood of his glasses. He was almost happy that this was the last time he'd have to clean this substance off of him. He was retiring from the whole bloody mess after this, after slaughtering a family whose last's names were a blur to him but whose first names he didn't want to know.

His mind wandered to the people he was thinking of. How old were the kids he was supposed to shoot in the head? Were they close, or did the feud like normal children? Did the parents love them enough to throw themselves in front of a gun? Were they all girls or boys or both? What color was their blood? How thick was it? How long would they bleed before they finally died?

A woman's scream brought him out of his horrific thoughts. The scream followed three gun shots and then a loud thud and then silence.

Kabuto pulled out his gun and sped to the room his partner and the now dead woman were in. He looked inside to see Orochimaru, bathed in moonlight, standing over a twisted corpse, with long shimmering hair, the mother no doubt. Behind her were two shaky children, holding each other. He couldn't tell if they were girls or boys; all children's sobs sounded the same at their age.

One, the tallest, was staring at the woman with wide, angry eyes, a protective grip around the child beside him. The other was clinging to him, crying in his older sibling's shirt. With a broken wail, the oldest jumped up and ran to Orochimaru and tackled him with amazing strenth. The poor fool was screaming sobs out at him and punching him with its fists.

Kabuto pointed his gun at the child's head. Two shots brought it to the puddle blood that circled its mother's head.

The room was quiet then, with exception of the remaining family member's sobs.

Kabuto walked up to the remaining child slowly. It must have been a boy for his hair was shorter than what most girls wore. But crying was crying and fear was fear, no matter what gender a child was.

Kabuto was glad he couldn't see the boys eyes, it might actually pain him to see death in those that were too young to see it. He raised the gun so that he'd get a clean shot in the boys head; he wouldn't suffer, nor would he know he was dying.

The gun went off and the little one fell at his older sibling's feet.

"Well that was a headache." Orochimaru stated as he lurched himself to his feet and brushed himself off.

Kabuto released a fake, mocking smirk. "Thanks for all the help. And by the way, did you enjoy your little play-date?"

Orochimaru shrugged and re-loaded his gun. "Well I was so comfortable on the floor and you seemed to be handling things so well, I just didn't see any reason to jump in a mess you up."

Kabuto sighed with irritation. "Whatever." He watched Orochimaru's focus on the corpses with an interest that he had never shown. He didn't know too much about his partners past, but he knew that he had taken out more people than he could kill in his entire life. He was a dark man, but had a surprisingly warm sense of humor. He was sadistic at times, but even he was able to find a positive point in his dreary existence. He was a bitter pleasure to be around.

"They were both boys," Orochimaru observed, nudging the one that had been killed first. "I guessing they were barely teenagers."

Kabuto twitched. "It's such a waste, killing kids. I hardly doubt that they were involved with their fathers operation to take out our organization."

Orochimaru shrugged. "They would have gotten involved either way, it was best to get them out of the way as soon as possible."

Kabuto looked away from the bloody scene. "At least we're done now." He was about to head for the exit but Orochimaru grabbed his shoulder.

"Not yet." He smiled, the sick monster actually liked this. "There's still one left one left." He nodded to his right where a closet door existed.

Kabuto looked almost sickened, but he knew what had to be done. He didn't bother to be careful, he just wanted to shoot the kid and get out of their before his vomit became a piece of evidence. He pulled the door open and paused.

The kid below him was no doubt a girl, but she looked just a bit older than her…brothers? Her wide eyes didn't look up at him, they remained ahead, at the boys who lied dead just mere feet from her.

Kabuto leveled his gun at her, wanting to make her death quick. He hesitated though, for even though he was twenty-five, he couldn't help the dark thought that the girl was actually somewhat good looking despite her apparent young age. Her hips were wide and flat since she was straddling the floor. Kabuto couldn't really see her chest because of the baggy shirt she wore, but he was sure something amazing was under there.

Sadly though, he wasn't the kind of hit man to rape his victims before slaughtering them.

"Sorry kid." He whispered before pulling the trigger.

Pop.

His eyes widened at the fact that there was no bullet in the girls head. He pulled the trigger again and received only a loud pop. He growled and checked the cylinder; it was empty.

"I'm out." He said to his partner. "Do you want to do it or…"

Orochimaru didn't answer him. He too had his eyes on the nameless girl. Suddenly, he knelt down; blocking the girl's view of the woman that was most likely her mother. He watched her eyes as he snapped his fingers in front of her face.

"She's out of it." Orochimaru theorized. "She'll probably suffer from amnesia once all of this is over with."

Kabuto watched the girl and then his partner. Was he also hesitating to kill a girl who's they didn't even know? He was answered when Orochimaru reached out to stroke the girl's cheek; for once she shuddered, showing that she was still partly there.

Orochimaru smirked darkly and leaned in to whisper in her ear: "If you tell, I'll come back to kill you." A sob broke from the girl's throat, but she remained completely still.

Orochimaru stood after that. "Now we're finished."

Kabuto let his partner pass by first. The moon now lit the rest of the room and he could watch the crystal beads slowly run down her cheeks. This girl, who ever she was, was all alone now.

He went outside a few moments later; Orochimaru was waiting for him with the car keys dangling by one finger. "Your turn to drive." He said, tossing him the clinking metal.

Kabuto smirked before getting into the driver's seat and turning the car on; he didn't bother with a seat belt, it was a minor law that wasn't worth following.

As they sped down the road, two police cars and an ambulance zoomed past them.

"I wonder where they're going." Orochimaru snickered.

Kabuto gripped the wheel tightly. He felt empty inside and just wanted to go home and sleep all of it off. He looked at the rearview mirror to see the emergency cars turning into the driveway of the family they had slaughtered.

"Who were they." He said, trying to hide the frog his throat.

"Their last names were Uchiha." Orochimaru stated. "The man was the one I was told was planning the over-ride of the Akatsuki mob." He had already sensed the uncertainty in Kabuto's voice and tried to reassure him. "He's been causing a lot of deaths with his attacks, so in a way, his death will be rejoiced by all."

Kabuto shrugged. "I still don't think those kids had to die."

"Technically," Orochimaru began, "One of them wasn't really their kid."

Kabuto looked at him. "What?"

"Eyes on the road!" Orochimaru warned as Kabuto swerved slightly off the road. After getting back on track, he continued. "I wasn't given the details, but one of the children was supposedly adopted. Rumor has it that the Uchiha's, the two we met, adopted the girl so that she could help out with the attacks; they were training her to become a killer."

Kabuto's mind started to unwind again. Why didn't the Uchiha's use one of their own kids? Why did they have to get innocent blood mixed up in all of that?

Kabuto kept his eyes on the road after that. What would happen to that girl now that her parents and siblings were dead? What if she remembered them and they got caught? He took a deep breath; he was worrying too much on the subject. Orochimaru had said the girl was petrified, and it was rare Orochimaru was wrong about anything.

He'd be fine, and he'd wake up in a blur the next morning.

"Stop here." Orochimaru spoke up suddenly.

Kabuto slowed down and pulled onto a streetlamp lite area. "This isn't your place."

Orochimaru nodded and opened the door. "I want to grab a drink before I head home. You go ahead; I'll run down a cab."

Kabuto stared worriedly at the splotches of blood on his clothing but decided not to point them out. Orochimaru was a great liar and would find an excellent excuse for why they were there.

"All right then. Take care."

Orochimaru waved him off before turning to the alley leading to the closest bar.

Kabuto sighed, thankful that he'd be able to get home early.

.,.,.,

There was nothing in the morning newspaper about the shooting or the girl. Kabuto was relieved about this and was able to go out to breakfast without paranoia.

As he took in his second cup of coffee, he saw a woman and a little boy coming in his direction. The woman had on a nurse uniform and had her hair pulled into a spikey ponytail. The boy had long, dark blond hair that was neatly tucked behind his ears and was dressed the way a normal child should be. There was no blood on his clothes.

Kabuto stood and approached them. "Good morning. How are you?"

The woman looked at him and smiled politely. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

That's how it began between them. Every day, she and that boy walked by the café, and every day he greeted them with a heart-felt smile. He wasn't sure if it was necessarily love that drew him to them, but for once in his life, he felt a great sense of want and peace. If he didn't have a reason to change his ways once, he sure did now.

Besides, there was no blood on their clothes and no horror in their eyes. He loved them immediately.


	2. The smile

_One month later_

.,.,.,.,.

"You have to be gentle." The nurse instructed as she led Orochimaru into the hallway where the patient he wanted to see was being kept. "She tires very easily and too much excitement will startle her."

Orochimaru looked over her shoulder into the tiny window the girl was in. She was sitting on her bed, wearing a large, gray housecoat over her hospital outfit, and playing a quiet game of solitaire.

"Poor dear," the nurse sighed. "She's such a cheerful creature, but she's been completely silent since the night she walked into this place."

He smirked. The girl still had that look of fear and insecurity on her face, not to mention that nice looking body to match it.

The nurse unlocked the door. "Not too long now, I'll be down the hall when you're through."

"Thank you ma'am." Orochimaru waited until she was out of sight before entering the room.

The girl looked up, a little startled because no one except men in white coats and nurses had ever entered her room.

"Hello." Orochimaru greeted gently.

The girl edged up to the headboard, her hand searching for the call button. There was something so familiar about that voice, but she didn't know what.

"Relax," Orochimaru cooed. "I'm not here to harm you." He grabbed a chair from behind the door and unfolded it at the foot at the bed.

The girl watched very breath he took, holding herself tightly while her thumb was poised over the call button.

Orochimaru laughed softly. "You're a careful little thing aren't you?"

She remained passive.

He sighed, finding her silent treatment unimpressive. He saw the cards she left on the rumpled covers and gathered them, smiling when he saw her flinch from reaching out to her.

"You know why you're here don't you?" he asked as the flipped and mixed the cards up.

The girl's eyes went sad. Everything the girl remembered was mixed up and twisted into a black haze, but she knew that she was going to be alone for a very long time.

He flashed a card up to her, the Queen of Hearts.

The girl noticed that the Queen's eyes were very similar to those of the strange man's; eyes that were so evil that they left a scar in her brain that she couldn't touch.

He hid it and began talking again as he shifted the cards around. "You're here because someone did something very wrong and left you to clean up the mess, am I right?"

The girl glared at him. She leaned forward and opened her mouth only to have a hoarse sound come from it.

"Oh, so the little mouse is trying to squeak is she?" Orochimaru mocked, holding out another card for her. It was the 5 diamonds, and Orochimaru put it back since it wasn't what he was looking for.

"Sh…shu…" the poor girl was straining herself to tell him something.

Orochimaru was greatly interested and watched her flushed face while his hands involuntarily fiddled with the cards.

"Shu…Shut…u-up…shut…up…" she was stronger now, her expression dark and angry. "Shut…up! Shut up!"

He smirked and stood, immediately shutting the girl up again. He grabbed her wrist before she could reach for the call button again, earning a nice, horrified squeal from her.

Her other hand clawed at his arm but he grabbed that one too, pulling her up slightly.

"Shut up, eh? Do you know that the silent ones are the most deadly? They grow up to be all kinds of things…like the murderer that slaughtered your parents."

"Shut up!" The girl husked, shaking her head and trying desperately to get away from him.

He pushed her against the head board and waited until she was too worn out to fight him. She slumped again him and he released her, allowing her dazed eyes to stay on him as she fell back into the bed.

He smirked down at her and reached behind him and got the deck of cards he had left on the chair while he was dealing with her.

"You know little girl," he hummed, looking for a particular card. "You could be just like him if you gave yourself the chance. You could avenge the blood of your fallen parents and brothers, wouldn't you like that?"

She stared at him, now in awe and in terror of the words he would say next.

He sat down beside her and ran a hand through her bangs before slipping a card into her hands.

"I can help you become that, because I know how people like that man think. I can help you take out the man who took your family away from you." He stood and stretched. "You think about it."

She covered her ears and looked down at the Queen's eyes, the eyes that held so much darkness yet so much hope.

Orochimaru put the chair back and opened the door for his departure. "It was nice meeting you…" he looked back at her, still unaware of her name. "Well, goodbye."

An hour passed and the nurse who had showed Orochimaru to the girls room came back to give her medicine.

She unlocked the door and entered the lit room with a smile. "Okay little lady, it's time for…" she gasped and dropped the cup of pills before running out of the room.

The bed was empty, said for the deck of cards that was missing its queen.

.,.,.,.,.

The girl released a small grunt as she landed on her feet from the drop of the third story window. The light dew soaked through her socks but she ran as fast as she could. Above her dark grey clouds were gathering to release their tears.

She may have been losing her mind, but she knew that she had to find that man, the man who could help her find the truth plus more.

She had to remember what happened that night, and why the person that strange man talked about left a fourteen year old girl to suffer.

She stopped on a curb and looked in various directions. She had absolutely no idea where she was, neither less where she was going.

Maybe if she had just stayed in the hospital he would have come back. But it was getting dark now and wouldn't be able to find that haven.

She stuffed her cold hands into her robe and felt for the Queen of Hearts. She stared at the beautiful queen ruefully. She couldn't give up yet, not when she was so close.

Suddenly an object on the card caught her eye. The spear the Queen was holding was pointing straight ahead, almost as if she was pointing in the direction she needed to go in.

The girl looked up and saw a dark haired figure exiting around a building corner.

"W-w-wa-wait!" she yelled after him, breaking off into a dash.

She ran into the streets, almost getting hit by a car or two before reaching the alley she could have sworn she saw the man from earlier run into.

"W-Wait!" She yelled out before falling face first into a muddy puddle. She laid there for a while, allowing the murky water to burn her nostrils and block out her ears.

It was pointless after all. She didn't even know if this guy was serious about helping her, let alone if that was really his true intention. He could have been some weirdo who knew about her history and wanted to kill or rape her.

She curled up in the puddle, allowing herself to become completely soaked. The rain was starting to fall now, just as hard and fast as the own tears in her eyes. She felt like dying, drowning in the water that was slowly building up around her. At least if she died like they did, she'd get to see them, and no one could take them away from her.

_Itachi…_

_Sasuke…_

_Mother…_

_Dad…_

Suddenly, the rain stopped pounding on her, sparing her from death. She opened her blurry eyes and saw a pair of boots in front of her. She flipped onto her back to see the owner of the boots and the umbrella that was blocking the rain.

"Hello again little girl." Orochimaru greeted with a chuckle. He was amazed at how easily she found him, but then again he didn't make too hard for her. He had waited for her, and made sure she followed him.

He extended a hand to assist her. If she took it, it would show that he had earned her trust and he could take that much from her and more.

She stared at him, the angel who wanted to fill the void in her heart. But there was something so evilly familiar about this angel.

"You might want to hurry unless you want to catch pneumonia."

She knew his voice, but not his face.

She took his hand; she knew his touch, but didn't know where from.

He hoisted her to her feet, picking her up in his arms while leading her to his car where he strapped her in the front seat.

They stared at each other as he started the vehicle. She was still very suspicious of him but she couldn't really care. If she lived by his hands, she'd end up dying. If he killed her right off, it wouldn't matter. Either way she'd get to see her parents and brothers again; she'd get exactly what she wanted. With her eyes still on him, she leaned against the door and went to sleep.

Orochimaru laid her down on the couch when they returned to his apartment

"She truly is a beautiful creature." Orochimaru thought as his eyes roamed over the young girl peacefully sleeping on her side. He ran his fingers through her silky, damp hair and then down her shoulder. His hand began to wonder elsewhere but he stopped himself. That's not the reason he went after her…well not entirely at least.

He wanted to see how the shooting had affected her, more importantly if she knew it was him who had been a part of it. In the meantime, he wanted to get to know the girl who was casting such a spell on him.

"Good night little one." Orochimaru whispered before pulling a light blanket over her.

"An-ko."

Orochimaru looked back. "What was that?"

The girl's small eyes opened. "An-ko. M-my name's Anko." She fell right back asleep after that.

Orochimaru smirked. "Anko, eh?" He pulled the blanket more securely over her shoulders. "Anko Uchiha? No, that name doesn't belong to you anymore. You are below the dead now, my dear. You are now Anko…" he gave her last name a thought. He couldn't give her his; she wouldn't never accept him as a father. He went to her features for some inspiration. Her purple hair…creamy skin…the dark brown orbs that hid behind her pupils…

"Mitarashi." He said finally. "Anko Mitarashi. Yes, that fits just nicely."


	3. Rough waters

_1 year later, Otogakure_

_/./././././._

Not long after Kabuto and Guren began dating, Kabuto had began to receive hearty checks from his former boss that helped him start off a normal, seemingly clean life. He had married Guren and was able to buy an amazing house large enough for a family of twenty that had a pool and a view of an abandoned house that sent a cold streak through the waters. Kabuto was convinced he had it made, with his fortunate and new family.

But even with his lovely wife, and step-son who was slowly beginning to grow use to him, the painful emptiness that had developed a year ago remained.

"Here you go!" Kabuto shrilled merrily as he walked back onto the patio where the small family had been relaxing at for the afternoon. He handed his new wife Guren a large glass of Bora-Bora. She smiled at him as he gave her a loving peck on the cheek. He turned to the little boy in the pool, Yūkimaru. "And a glass of lemonade for you," he said, sitting the glass on the table for him to retrieve. "On the rocks."

Yūkimaru dropped the rubber ball he was playing with and looked at his new stepfather with a look of boredom. He didn't exactly hate him, but he didn't like the fact that his mother was replacing the father that had disappeared from his life barely eight years before. He had that childish want for him to return.

"Yūkimaru," Guren scolded lightly. "Be polite and thank your father."

Yūkimaru swam away. "Thanks Mr. Yakushi."

Guren sat up and frowned at her sons moving figure. "Stop it Yūkimaru-"

"Leave it be Guren." Kabuto reassured. "Our relationship is like my new antique business: rough waters at first but then smooth sailing ahead."

Guren smiled and relaxed, thankful for her husband's patience. "That reminds me, is that pale creature going to be working with you at your new job?"

Kabuto gave her a questionable look. "Orochimaru?" he chuckled lightly. "Most likely; I just can't seem to rid myself of that guy."

Guren chuckled gently. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I've gotten away from a lot of things thanks to you." She sat up to better reminisce her past. "I mean, just a year ago I was a part time nurse barely able to get Yūkimaru and I by." she smiled at Kabuto as she said the next part. "But after dating and finally marrying you, I get to live in a great house, have a wonderful and caring husband," she leaned over and gave said caring husband a peck on the cheek. "Who knows how to make me great cocktails."

Kabuto smiled and relaxed. This was his life now, and he loved it. Who would have thought that someone like him, with suck a dark past, would actually enjoy pleasures such as these? He looked at the house across from him and could have sworn he saw someone at the window.

He shot up to check again, but saw nothing.

"Hey Guren," he spoke. "Did you see something just now, in that house?"

Guren looked at her estranged husband. "That's impossible, no one's lived in that house in years."

He stared at her. "You sure?"

She sat up. "I was talking to Mrs. Yamanaka down the street about it and she told me that a family was killed in there a few years ago."

Kabuto slowly turned back to the window and stared. His pulse started racing as red flashed over his eyes.

"Honey?" Guren questioned, pulling Kabuto from his trance. "Are you all right?"

Kabuto looked at her but didn't answer. He was pale and his throat was too dry to let words form.

"Wait a minute." Guren teased. "You're not afraid of ghosts now are you?"

Kabuto released a strangled laugh. "No of course not." He picked up his drink with a shaky hand and drunk it in one short gulp.

.,.,.,.,.

"Checkmate."

Orochimaru groaned and let his ex-partner take his king. "I should have seen that one coming." He looked up with a smirk, but saw that Kabuto was passive and daunt.

"What's got you so solemn?" he asked in a joking matter.

Kabuto sighed and sat back. "I was just thinking about the past."

Orochimaru stared at him attentively. "When you retired from the mob, you were supposed to leave those annoying memories behind."

Kabuto shook his head irritatedly. "I know I know, but I can't get that family out of my mind."

Images of the man with a bullet in his skull and the woman using her body as a human shield for the sake of her boys falling to the floor in a bloody heap flashed across his eyes.

"I killed them Orochimaru. I killed two kids and their parents."

"Calm down, you weren't alone you know."

Kabuto jumped out of his chair, accusingly yelling at Orochimaru. "Well you don't seem too screwed up! Look at you, you're always acting like nothing happened, like you didn't pull the trigger on anyone!"

Orochimaru watched him calmly, not speaking, not twitching, not showing any kind of emotion to show what his ex-partner was screaming was affecting him.

Kabuto slumped back into his chair, another more powerful thought fresh on his brain.

"That girl…"

_Crystal beads ran down her cheeks._

"Who was she? Where is she now?" his hands almost broke the arms of the chair. "Damn it who is she? I've got to know!"

He went silent after that, and Orochimaru did his best to conceal his smirk. He really loved to watch this kid lose his mind.

"Humph, maybe you're in love with her." he shrugged. "But why would you be, when you have all you need just downstairs."

Kabuto looked up, feeling slightly guilty for his outburst. He was right, he was lucky to have Guren and Yūkimaru. He should let his memories of that girl slip away.

"Listen, Orochimaru, I really appreciate you keeping up with me lately. I probably would lose it if I didn't have you to take all this crap out on."

Some of Orochimaru's smirk came out and he shrugged. "If you really mean that, then take back that last move."

Kabuto looked down at the chest board and laughed with relief. "Not a chance."

Orochimaru laughed in good humor. "Ouch, now that's just cruel."

.,.,.,.,

Across from the house the two men were laughing at, a pair of very angry eyes was watching them. These eyes belonged to a woman who was barely fifteen but had the heart of a full-grown adult.

"Get out of the way Orochimaru!"

She watched with fury as the two men stood, shook hands, and walked back inside, still laughing, Orochimaru deliberately blocking Kabuto from the girl's gunpoint.

"Damn it!" the girl screamed to high heaven, throwing the gun down. "Damn it all!"

.,.,.,.

Orochimaru went home after Kabuto and Guren treated him to dinner. He was actually glad that he was out of there and back in the ghetto where people were mean as Hell. That family was just too cheerful for him, a perfect family. Well, with exception for Yūkimaru who seemed to hate everyone other than his mom.

He sighed and unlocked the door of his apartment, entering slowly just in case someone was robbing the place; Orochimaru did like to use the element of surprise.

But all was quiet, and he removed his jacket as well as other pieces of clothes so that he could just jump into the bed when he turned in.

He was about to throw his shirt over the couch when he heard the faint creak of a floor board behind him. Before he could blink, he whipped around and had a gun pointed levelly with his opponent head who and their gun at range with his heart.

It took him a moment to recognize the stranger but when he saw the feminine body, he smirked and put the gun away despite how one was still pointed at him.

"Anko, you shouldn't be out so late. You might get hurt."

Anko Mitarashi slowly lowered her gun, but her glare and the nasty words on her tongue were ready to fire.

"Why didn't you do it?" She asked him sharply.

He pressed himself to her unmoving form, dragging his hand down her side and stopping at the end of her shirt.

Anko grabbed the front of his shirt and threw him back. "Stop that and answer me; why didn't you let me kill Kabuto Yakushi?"

Orochimaru picked himself up, debating if he should punish her for that action. "So you were the one staring out that window. You know my dear, if you're going to spy you need to actually stay out of sight."

Anko froze. She had been spying on Kabuto for almost three months and had become very good at masquerading herself from him, but when her anger and hunger for vengeance hit her, she couldn't care less about if he saw her butt-naked.

That man…that monster had killed her family in cold blood and she wanted nothing more than to watch him suffer for it.

"Still," Orochimaru cut back in. "I hardly doubt he would have seen you anyway," he was touching her again, but this time he was more cautious of her reflexes. "He had…other…things on his mind…" he planted a light kiss on her exposed neck and circled his arms around her waist.

Anko pushed him back gently. "Not tonight Orochimaru."

Orochimaru cocked a disapproving eye at her but didn't scold her. He knew how to reel her into one of his traps.

"I see. I understand, you've had a long day and perhaps seeing him today…with that family of his…was just exhausting to you. Probably gave you second thoughts even…"

Anko shot around. "You bastard!"

"Watch your tongue girl. But in all honesty, it did, didn't it?"

She shook, unable to control the mixed emotions swimming inside her.

She hated him so much, but doubted that she could actually take a gun and put a bullet in his head.

That's why she found Orochimaru.

For eleven months now, he had been training her to swallow that fear, to let the hate she really felt take over. He taught her how to use twelve types of guns and kill a man in over seven other ways, three of those ways using her bare hands.

He was more like an estranged father to her most of the time, but he could never be like the father that existed in the fragments of her traumatized mind. She considered him a teacher, a really great teacher.

But their little student-teacher relationship was a lot more than it was supposed to have been.

She really didn't mind when he touched her, it was somewhat of a payment for what he was doing for her.

But simple touches turned into rough caresses.

Rough caresses turned into possessive groping.

Possessive groping turned into full-on sex.

She didn't regret it though, most of the time anyway. He always gave her something in return. Recently it was the permanent location the Kabuto Yakushi. Still, whenever he had finished with her and let her lay there to feel his heartbeat on her back, she would think about her older brother.

They were barely a year apart, and were closer than what brothers a sisters were supposed to be. They like each other just a little too much, but they convinced each other since that they weren't really related, that when they were old enough that they could be together.

That was probably why seeing him die affected her more and left her without clear memories. That was why she was in Orochimaru's house, to get stronger and avenge him.

"No." Anko said. "It made me want to kill him more." Her hands scrunched up into fists when the image of that monster waddling by the pool with his family crossed her mind. How dare he enjoy what was taken from her!

She glared at her teacher. "And next time you say you're going to, "save me some trouble", do it, all right!"

Orochimaru smirked and tugged at the sleeve of her jacket, pulling it off her bare arms with ease. "Let me 'save you the trouble' of removing your clothes."

She watched him stroll up the stairs, lingering behind slightly so that she could follow. She hated his games, but she needed his knowledge and would have to play them for as long as it took. Gulping, she took her time going up the stairs; Orochimaru took things slow when it came to her.

.,.,.,

"_It doesn't matter how many times I do this with him,"_ Anko told herself later on. _"I'll never love him the way I loved another."_

She looked over her shoulder to see Orochimaru's bare back slowly rise and fall as he fell asleep. She turned on her side and gently shook him. "Orochimaru?"

He grunted as a response.

"…You are going to help me, aren't you?"

He grunted in the same tone and slumped, finalizing the ending of their conversation.

Anko pressed herself closer to him. "I mean, you aren't going to try anything else like you did today? I hate it when you pull things like that-"

"Anko," Orochimaru growled with tired irritation. "I told you the first day I put a gun in your hand that Kabuto Yakushi would die, and I **never **go back on my word if I can help it." His voice lowered into a slightly kinder tone. "Now if you please…"

Anko slowly retreated back to the side of her bed. Orochimaru rarely got totally fed up with her, but she knew that his patience had a short limit and she did not want to reach it.

She crossed her arms behind her head allowed the picture of the man Orochimaru had shown her to enter her mind.

.,.,.,.,.,

"_This is him."_

_Anko took the photograph and felt a jump of energy spill into her. She didn't recognize this man at all, but there was something about his eyes behind the glasses that egged her._

"_You know my dear," Orochimaru said as he leaned back in his chair. "He has a girlfriend now, and a step-child. Are you willing to take them from him?"_

_The photo turned into a wrinkled piece of paper in her hand before she threw it on the ground. She stared furiously at the crumpled paper, trying her best not to lose her mind. She ran a hand roughly through her hair before meeting her teachers amused gaze once more. _

"_I don't plan on killing his precious __**family**__…despite how he deserves it."_

_Orochimaru chuckled at the darkness in her voice; he was starting to like her more and more._

"_Very well," he said, picking the picture up. "But remember this, my dear girl: Those who anger you control you." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Try not to let it get that far." He kissed her head and left._

_.,..,.,._

Anko shuddered. She wasn't too sure she could take that advice, especially when her heart was in pain and thirst for closure grew stronger and stronger.


	4. Blinded by Hate

Kabuto was sleeping by the pool again, just relaxing as if there weren't a woman with a gun just barely above him.

Anko had come to the abandon house across from him without her master's permission. She wanted to give Kabuto's death another shot, considering Orochimaru wasn't around to muck things up again.

She had her gun centered with his chest, directly at his heart actually. She was ready to pull the trigger, all she needed now was for her finger to slip and release the bullet.

She was ready this time, she could do it, she had to. Orochimaru-sama said it was the only way Mom, Dad, Sasuke, and Itachi could rest in peace.

She took in a shaky breath and eased the lens in to avoid getting a faulty shot.

"Here we go." She whispered, looking through the target-hole. "Goodbye Mr. Yakushi, you bastard."

Kabuto slowly opened his eyes as a dark sensation ran across his burning skin. His attention wandered around, hoping to find the source of this dark intention. His eyes fell on the house across from him that had been giving him the darkest feeling. His heart began to pound just from looking at it, but the organ almost burst when a gleam from one of the windows glared down at him, as well as a pair of eyes.

He was shaking despite the heat of the day, and his limbs were frozen in position that left him completely exposed.

The gleam was bright enough to blind him, but he somehow managed to see the person staring at him with pure hate, a person that was all too familiar to him .

His eyes slowly widened as images of the person's face flashed from his memory to his mind. He saw her shaking like he was, her eyes wide with disbelief in terror. But he also saw the want for death deep inside her dark orbs.

It wasn't until he began to see the blood corpses of her parents and brothers that he started panicking. His fear was so great that he managed to unlock his senses and jolt up to escape his nightmare.

Beads of sweat adorned his flesh as he panted the shivers out. He turned his attention to the windows that had held his illusion and squinted to see through the bright glass. No one was there.

He sighed thankfully and stood, letting his skin adjust to the hot concrete. He stared into the shallow waters of his swimming pool and was disgusted to see the murderer that was staring back at him. Even after a year, the blood that had acted as a second layer of skin that night was still fresh. He could still smell its rusty scent and could see the expressions of the people it.

Kabuto snarled and closed his eyes, letting his weary body fall face-first into the icy waters.

…...

"Let me go!" Anko screamed as Orochimaru dragged her into a secluded alley next to a bar a good couple of miles from her former hideout. He had one arm around her waist and the other threateningly around her neck, so tightly it was close to breaking like a stick.

Orochimaru rolled his eyes at her struggles; he could have sworn he had already told her that he was stronger that she could ever be. And he was more than certain that he had warned her not to try her assassination without him and his consent.

"Let go **now**!" Anko screamed again, this time louder so that the people in the bar could hear her.

Orochimaru clasped a hand over her mouth and threw her into a wall before getting on her again. He met her angry eyes with a glare of his own. "What were you thinking?" he hissed.

Anko bit his hand and spat her blood-mixed saliva into his face. "I was thinking the same thing I've been thinking for almost a year now! I was thinking about killing the man who took everything from me, but of course you had to fuck everything up-"

"The timing wasn't right!" Orochimaru yelled at her, trying desperately not to wrap his hands around her neck and choke the life out of her right there in the alley.

"The timing was **perfect**!" Anko yelled back, throwing Orochimaru off of her. "He was right there! That fucking family of his was nowhere in sight and I had a gun leveled to his damn head!"

Orochimaru screamed and leveled a fist to her face.

The sound of bricks falling and breaking echoed through the empty atmosphere, but there were no yelps to signal that the object that had caused the destruction had had a second target.

Orochimaru pulled his limb out of the wall, a bare inch from Anko's horrified face. He placed his non-broken hand next to Anko's head, a malic-filled grin of his starch face.

"Next time, that can so easily be your head, my dear Anko."

Anko stared at him. He was absolutely insane. Why didn't he want her to kill Kabuto? Was it some kind of will test, or was he hoping that she would have second thoughts?

"Do it now." Anko demanded. "Go ahead and kill me, I don't care. All I want is to see them again, and if it takes you busting my brains out than go a damn head!"

Orochimaru stared at her. Part of him really wanted to go through with her suggestion but the other half wanted to keep her around just a little bit more. She was a source of entertainment, and everything she did amused him some kind of way.

Like the first time he used her for his own physical enjoyment. He would have never expected a mute child to react so loudly to some of the things he did.

He laughed softly, the memory easing some of his frustration. He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, earning her disturbed stare.

"But Kabuto Yakushi would go on living, wouldn't he? After all, I have no reason to take him out. That's your field of expertise."

Anko lowered her head in shame as Orochimaru walked past her.

"I'm going to get a drink." He said. "You may either come with me or go home."

Anko's gaze followed him. This man was her twisted teacher, and used to be her only bridge between her sorrow and Kabuto Yakushi's death. But now, he was simply a thorn that she couldn't get out of her side.

Her hand slipped into her pocket where a tiny handgun was sleeping. All it would take was one bullet in the back of his skull. No one would ever know it was her.

She slowly brought the gun out and pointed dead-center at Orochimaru's head.

All she had to do was pull the trigger.

But there was that guilty feeling that lurked on the surface of her chest. He was the reason she had come this far. What kind of a pupil would she be if she killed the man that had taught her everything?

But then again, what kind of a daughter was she to let Kabuto Yakushi kill her original father?

Before she could have a second thought, Orochimaru shot around and smirked at her, not seeming the least bit surprised at the weapon that was aimed to kill him.

"Are you coming or not?" he questioned smoothly.

Something about the way his voice drawled caused something to in Anko's head to click. The click gave off a wave of fear that caused her grip on the gun to falter to the point where she just let it clatter to the ground. She followed soon after.

"W-who are you?"

One of Orochimaru's eyebrows cocked up in a questionable matter, but his smirk was all-knowing. "You know who I am."

"No!" Anko screamed at him. "Who are you really? How do you know so much about Kabuto Yakushi? Why did you take me in if all you're going to do is mess me up!" She clawed at the dirt until her nails were filled with it. Tears were filling her eyes for the first time in over a year. "I hate this! I hate being alone and Kabuto Yakushi is the only piece of information I have but don't remember why!" her glassy eyes met him. "And I hate you! I hate you for screwing me over! I hate you for coming into that damn hospital! I hate you for-"

Orochimaru was in front of her before she had the chance to finish her sentence. He gently grabbed her chin. His eyes roamed her face, as if searching for something he had never seen. His thumb pressed into her jaw and he jerked her up to him, his lips making a smacking sound as they captured hers.

Anko struggled at first, but decided that fighting back was just a waste. He wouldn't go any farther while they were visible to wandering eyes; he preferred to do his sins in the darkness of his own home.

He released her and rubbed her cheek possessively. "If you ever say something like that again, **I'll kill you**."

Anko's eyes widened as vile filled her stomach.

"_If you tell, __**I'll come back to kill you**__."_

She jumped up from his grasp and ran as fast as she could away from him. She threw people out of her way, jumped over some even. She did whatever she could to get into the safety of her that unfortunately existed in Orochimaru's apartment. But she could lock her door, and steal the key from his room.

Orochimaru stared at the place his student had been crouching at, a new sensation taking over him. An evil smirk stained his tingling lips as he picked up the gun that she had forgotten.

"Looks like you're starting to remember Anko." He checked the bullet holes and put the safety on. He sighed. "It seems I'm going to have to make you forget again."

…...

Kabuto stared at his sleeping wife with great turmoil. He had never told her about his past as an assassin, which burdened him more and more.

He just couldn't get that girl out of his head. He told himself that if he had re-loaded his gun and blew her brains out that his problem would be solved, but then the guilt of killing her would have taken over.

He turned onto his back and switched his attention to the ceiling. Maybe if he just knew her name, he could calm down. But then he'd have to know if she was still alive, then where she was living, then who she was living with and so forth. He couldn't be satisfied with just those tid-bits of information.

"_Humph, maybe you're in love with her."_

He closed his eyes for a moment to relish on that thought. Could that be all this was, love? He didn't think it was possible. How could he be in love with a girl he didn't even know when he had just made love to the woman he had pledged his life to barely an hour ago?

He turned back to Guren and wrapped a gentle arm around her waist, holding her closely as he fought off the nightmares for the millionth time in his life.

././././.

_Morning_

"You two be careful now." Kabuto instructed as he showed his wife and step-son out of the house. They were planning to do a little shopping so that Kabuto could get work done inside the quiet house.

"We will." Guren said, waving good bye.

Kabuto watched them, already feeling at peace just by the look of them.

"Will we get toys?" Yukimaru asked excitedly.

Guren laughed. "Maybe, but first say goodbye to your father."

Kabuto laughed and began to go back inside. "Leave him alone Guren, he's got toys on the brain…"

"Bye!"

Kabuto froze and slowly turned around to see a sight stranger than death. His step-son, who he patiently allowed to hate him, was waving him goodbye and actually smiling at him.

"Goodbye Dad!"

Kabuto's heart swelled as he lifted a shaky arm to wave goodbye. He watched them disappear behind the gate, his arm still swaying. After a moment, he retreated back inside, whistling a happy tune and skipping up the stairs at the same beat.

He reached the top of the stairs and was about to turn into his main office when something moved from the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked just in time to see a figure hide in the shadows cast by the house across from his.

"Hello?" he called out. Even though he was met by silence, he could feel the second presence in the room. He could only think of one person who would invade his home so covertly.

"Orochimaru?" Kabuto questioned. He saw the shadow-bathed figure jerk, and he smirked. "You bastard." Kabuto laughed as he closed in on him. "Why didn't you just…"

The person thought to be Orochimaru stepped out into the light, and Kabuto's heart started to race. This person was a fit woman, with spiky lavender hair and angry, brown eyes.

"You…you're…" Kabuto gulped, images of blood and her tears running across his mind. "That girl…"

Anko stared at him. This was the first time she was actually face-to-face with him, and she was soaking in every second of it. He was almost as tall as she was, but he seemed so much weaker. The horror in his eyes sent a rush through her, but she couldn't tell if it was eagerness or hate.

"Kabuto Yakushi…" Anko announced, slowly easing out her gun.

Kabuto's eyes widened; how did she know his name?

"I hope you're ready to die."

Kabuto stumbled back, grabbing the banister just in time to keep himself from tumbling down the stairs. He picked up the sound of footsteps coming up behind him, and took the chance of turning around to see who it was.

"Orochimaru!" he sighed in relief. "It's her it's that girl…" He watched Orochimaru stroll past him calmly, a lazy smirk on his lips.

"I see you've met my apprentice." Orochimaru said as he walked up behind a now irritated Anko.

She lowered the gun slightly.

"Your…apprentice!" Kabuto gasped. "But…why? How?"

Orochimaru chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm giving her what she wants: to eliminate the man who kill her beloved family.

Kabuto stared at him for a moment before his gaze turned into a glare. "What are you talking about? You-"

"Shoot him." Orochimaru whispered to Anko who didn't have to be told twice.

The bullet zoomed directly beside Kabuto's temple, grazing him. He wasted no time in jumping over the banister down the fourteen feet. He landed on the couch and crouched alongside the walls to avoid Anko's hits.

Anko shot down at him, missing only slightly until her bullets ran out. She growled and turned to Orochimaru. "I'm going after him." She paused however when he pulled out a gun of his own…and pointed it right at her.

"What are you doing?" she questioned.

Orochimaru lazily shrugged. "This is the part where I double-cross you."

Anko's eyes widened as he released the safety.

"Goodbye Anko. You have been entertaining, but I've tired of your ruthlessness." He pulled the trigger and watched Anko clutch her stomach before dropping to the floor. She stuttered for a moment, twitching and cursing him but finally rolled onto her stomach and stopped, her eyes closing.

He smirked as he stared down at her. If he would have known that doing this a year ago would have pleased him this much, he would have pulled her plug sooner. Still, it was unfortunate that she had to die so young, and now he had to kill Kabuto himself. Yes, very unfortunate.

He sighed and lazily retreated back down to the steps, leaving Anko's corpse to deal with later. He was sure Kabuto wouldn't mind he took a glass of water for his troubles before he shot a few bullets of his own at him.

.,.,.,.,.

Kabuto panted roughly as he came to a halt in the garage, locking the door behind him. His shaky hands fumbled in the small first-aid kit for a large band aid to secure the wound on his temple. He hissed as he disinfected and bandaged it, cursing Orochimaru because he didn't know Anko well enough to do so to her.

Honestly, he couldn't find any anger in his heart for her, even if she did just try to kill him.

After that, he searched the garage for his secret hiding place where he kept his most murderous gun, the exact same one he used a year ago on the Uchiha's. He had several hidden throughout the house, but this was only one he knew how to use; once a murder, always a murder.

He filled it with bullets and opened the garage door, searching for the car keys for his getaway. He fumbled with them and unlocked the door, jumping in and starting up the engine. "Come on come on come on!" he prayed as the garage door slowly opened to its full level. He was a second from pressing down on brakes when the opposite door swung open and a very wasted Anko admitted herself.

"What the-" the gun pointed at his head shut him up.

"Drive." Anko growled, sweat running down her face. One of her hands was gripping her chest where Orochimaru's bullet had gotten her. She pointed the gun upwards and shot off a warning round through the car ceiling. "I said drive damn it!"

Kabuto wasted no time in giving her exactly what she wanted and sped off, swaying through the lawn as he drove into the streets.

.,.,.,.

Orochimaru was watching from the upstairs window. Behind him was a small pool of blood that once belonged to Anko. He smirked and relished on the fact that this adventure was far from over.


	5. WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT PAIN!

Kabuto's heart was racing madly. His palms were sweaty and constantly slipping off the steering wheel. His eyes kept stealing anxious looks at the crazed woman who had a gun to his head.

He took in a deep gulp and tried to stay calm, but he could see that the gun was shaking and that Anko could make a move at any time and blow his brains out. He was terrified, but had a sick dart of excitement in his gut.

He looked down at the slight tear in Anko's shirt where the bullet had penetrated, but there was no blood. He mentally smiled. Anko had worn bullet-proof mesh under her shirt as a defense against Orochimaru's attack. He must have taught her that, but he was foolish to think she'd forget.

She still was ready to kill him, and he had to put a stop to that long enough to get some answers.

He put on a gentle smile and tried to reason with Anko. "Could you put the gun down just long enough for me to-"

"Shut the Hell up!" Anko screamed as a response. "How dare you try to ask favorites from me after what you did!"

Kabuto gulped. He knew exactly what she was talking about, but why was she only made at him and not Orochimaru? Why was she only angry at him and not the man who helped killed her family, the one who actually enjoyed it for that matter.

"If you shoot me," he explained calmly. "You'll die too. We'll swerve off this road and dive in with the fishes."

Something that sounded like a scoff left her throat. "Do you honestly think I care about that? You'll die; that's all I've ever wanted."

"Look, I understand that you want to see** them** again, but killing me isn't going to bring them back. And just because you die, that doesn't mean you're going to the same place as them."

"We wouldn't even have this problem if you hadn't killed them, now would we!?" she yelled at him.

"You don't understand!" he defended urgently. "Your father…he was dangerous! He was trying to bring down our Akatsuki organization. You have no idea what kind of a composition we were in! If we didn't kill them, a lot of other people would have died, **our **people and **their **families! Don't you see? We didn't have any choice!"

Anko stared at him in complete amazement. Her muscles became weak and it was only by pure instinct that she was able to keep the gun up. "You…didn't have a choice…" tears welled up in her eyes, one dared to escape, which was immensely noticed by Kabuto. "Didn't…have…a choice?"

Kabuto thought for a moment that she was going to burst out into tears, but he was proven incorrect when Anko's tears of disbelief turned into those of rage.

"Stop the car!" Anko commanded. When Kabuto didn't react quickly enough, Anko pressed the gun directly to his temple. "Stop the car damn it!"

Kabuto eased over to a cliff hanging over the ocean, the closest stopping point that would keep him from getting his brains blown out. Anko forced him out of the car towards it, the gun pointed at him to whole time.

"What do you mean you **didn't have a choice**?! You could have gone to the police, or just walked away from it!"

"I'm sorry!" Kabuto called as he was forced further back on the cliff, tripping over a stone and falling back into the dust. "It didn't mean anything to me then, but…" he smiled sadly. "but then…a woman and her son walked past me and…I realized what I took from you."

Anko watched him closely, disgusted vile filling her stomach as tears fell down his cheeks.

"Yūkimaru…" Kabuto whispered. "He called me father today…" he sobbed quietly for a moment, letting the images of his beautiful family sink in.

"You're…crying?" Anko examined quietly. The rage came back. "You're crying…for **your family**?! Because you're in pain to have them taken from you?!" she gnashed her teeth together. **"What the Hell would you know about pain!?"** she screamed at the top of her lungs. "You've done **nothing** but caused it, how can you possible know what it **feels** like?!"

Kabuto squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry Anko…I truly am…"

Anko's entire body was screaming to pull the trigger, anything to get that look off his face and out of her mind. But, an image, several images, stopped her.

.,.,.,.

_Twelve year old Anko stared at the new faces the nun was introducing her to._

"_Anko," she said gently. "These are the Uchiha's, this is the family you're going to be living with now." She gave her a slight push towards them._

_Anko stared down shyly. "H-hello…"_

_Mikoto crouched down in front of her. "Hello dear. You have no idea how glad I am that you're going to live with us." She leaned in a little more to whisper a secret. "All these boys really work on me."_

_Anko smiled slightly, glad that this woman actually wanted her._

"_I heard that."_

_The two looked back to see Fugaku smiling down at the scene of his wife and new daughter. "But having another little lady in the house will be a refreshing change." He reached out and took Anko's suitcase from the nun. "Shall we ladies?"_

_Anko scurried along with them, no longer nervous about the situation she was in. _

_.,.,_

"_Itachi! Sasuke!"_

_Loud footsteps came hurtling down the steps and two boys appeared. _

_Fugaku placed a hand over the one Mikoto had on Anko's shoulder. "This is Anko. She's your sister now."_

_The children stared at each other for a long moment. _

_Anko was scared to death that they would hate her, that she'd have to go back to the orphanage and wait another twelve years before a family fell in love with her again. _

_However, this doubt was wiped from her mind as the smallest of the two boys, Sasuke, ran over and pounced her._

"_Anko nee-chan!" he greeted excitedly. He pulled away from her and took her hand. "Come on! I'll show you my room and you can play with all of my toys!"_

_Anko looked back nervously. The parents were laughing at their youngest son's actions while the other just stared at her. Anko had no time to reminisce on this for Sasuke already had her halfway up the steps._

_Later, after Fugaku and Mikoto had finally gotten Sasuke to settle down and leave Anko in peace in her own new room, Itachi paid her an actual visit._

"_Hi." He had said._

_Anko twisted the fabric of her gown nervously. "Hi."_

_He walked up to her, scratching his head for words. "I guess…we're family now, huh?"_

_She shrugged. "I guess so…"_

_They were quiet after that, both averting from each other._

"_You know," Itachi said. "If…you don't want to be my sister…that's okay."_

"_What do you-"_

"_We can just be friends." Itachi hurried along. "Just…someone you can talk to."_

_Anko saw the redness across his cheeks and smiled slightly. She had seen the same looks on the faces of many others who had experienced their first crush._

"_Okay," she said. "Whatever you want."_

_He smiled before nodding and leaving her slowly. _

_Anko smiled as well. She hadn't made a brother, she had made a friend. _

_But somehow…it was more than that._

_.,.,.,.,._

"_If we're not brother and sister, than what are we?" Anko had asked him several months later._

_He looked at her with an all-knowing smirk. "We're…lovers?"_

"_Lovers?" Anko said like a small child turning their nose up at a much hated food._

"_I saw it in one of mom's book." It's two people who really love each other, only they have to keep it kind of a secret because other people won't approve."_

"_Well, what do we do?"_

"_Simple." Itachi said. "When we're grown up, we'll get married. And then Mom and Dad will be okay with it."_

_Anko thought for a moment. She wasn't yet thirteen but knew a lot of things about love and marriage she since she had attended a class for kids who had become adults early in the orphanage. But most of the things they told her were that those kind of things were as sinful as sin could get. _

_But she and the other girls still read the stories of the princesses who fell in love with their prince and got married. Nothing seemed "sinful" about that._

"_Okay." Anko agreed, leaning over and unexpectedly giving Itachi a kiss on the cheek. "But that's just so that you won't forget." She felt Itachi's shocked eyes on her as she left. She was so bad. _

_.,.,.,.,_

"_Anko! Anko, wake up!"_

_Fourteen year old Anko woke with a start to her mother's unusually frightened voice. She sat up to see a blurry Sasuke clinging to Itachi, utter terror in his innocent eyes. Itachi had a straight face, but she could tell that he was shaking._

"_What is it?"_

_Mikoto shushed her sharply, but after a few seconds of silence, grabbed her daughter's shoulders desperately. "I'm so sorry for scolding you darling, but I need you and your brother's to be very quiet and follow me. There are some bad people downstairs who want to hurt us. Please baby, help me."_

_Anko nodded, fear now feeling her stomach. She got out of bed and put on her slippers as discreet as possible and rushed over to her brothers._

_Mikoto led them out of the hallway. Anko could hear yelling and glass breaking downstairs. "Where's dad?" _

_Her mother kept moving forward, but there was a grim look on her face._

_She looked over at the boys but they wouldn't look at her, not even Itachi._

_Suddenly there was a loud sound. It was louder than thunder, louder than the fireworks Mikoto and Fugaku had set off on her birthday just a month ago._

_Mikoto gasped and pushed all of them into the nearest bedroom, locking the door. "Say close to me children." She whispered. "And don't say a word."_

_Anko, Sasuke, and Itachi curled up together, like kittens for warmth. They were scared out of their wits but they had each other and that's all that mattered at the moment…._

_.,.,.,._

Anko didn't remember too much after that. A year of intense training had scrambled her brain up in so many ways.

She lowered her gun only slightly. She knew exactly what Kabuto was talking about before. He had a family and it would kill him a lot faster than one of her bullets if he was taken away from them. But…why should he deserve one while she continued to ache for hers?

"You lucky bastard." Anko spat, lowering her gun a safe distance so that she could pull it back up if she changed her mind.

Kabuto looked up at her in shock. "You're…letting me go?"

"Hell no." Anko answered. "I'm keeping you around for more answers, starting with this one: Why are you and Orochimaru so damn kinky?"

Kabuto stared questionable at her. What had Orochimaru told her? He stood up, brushing himself off thoroughly. "Orochimaru was my partner back when I was in the Akatsuki mob. He helped me…take your family out that night."

He watched the gun slip from her hands and topple to the ground. His eyes went back to her face. She had become deadly pale, her eyes wide. She was shaking, and not from the cool breezed washing over them.

"Anko?" Kabuto questioned. He thought it would be safe to approach her, but she darted off towards the car before he got the chance.

"Anko!"

She jumped in and closed the doors, cranking the vehicle up and swerving in a circle before speeding off with a cloud salty dust behind her.

"Anko!" he called through a cough. He watched her disappear in the opposite direction they had come from. He glared as he wiped the dirt off his glasses with his thumb.

"How the Hell am I supposed to get home!?"

After being answered by silence, he screamed and walked in the direction of wince he came. But he stopped at the thought of returning home. What if Orochimaru were still there? Oh no, what about Guren and Yūkimaru, would he kill them?

Kabuto's heart began to race at the thought of finding their corpses bloodied and cold on the floor. The very idea brought him to his knees, a sickened sob in his throat. "No…not again…"

The blood. The bodies. The little girl crying in the closet. They little girl becoming a killer and wanting him dead.

He swallowed and tried to think of a way around it.

No, Orochimaru **wouldn't **kill them.

Kabuto was grateful Guren was such a lively, social creature and had made friends with just about everyone in the neighborhood. They all had gotten a look at Orochimaru whenever he paid his frequent visits. They were all suspicious of him as it was, so if Guren or Yūkimaru were found dead, the fingers would automatically point at him. Even Orochimaru couldn't outrun the law forever.

Yes, they would be safe.

But what about him? Orochimaru wouldn't be as lenient with him? No, not after he just tried to kill him.

He was too rusty to start shooting guns off again, he wouldn't stand a chance. Orochimaru had always been good at what he did, even if he went months without picking up a weapon.

Anko was his only redeemer. Orochimaru had apparently trained her, so she must be good as well. He had to find her and tell her about her teacher, thus bringing her on his side. He might get shot in every place possible, but at least he'd have her on his side.

Sighing, he stood up and brushed to dirt off himself, turning to the road Anko had sped down. There was a small town out of that way that existed near the beach. It was a good hour if one drove their by car, but on feet…he'd be there by midnight at the least. Hopefully he could rent a car or find Anko to get his back.

It was indeed well over midnight when he reached the beach town. It was cooler, and Kabuto was numb with exhaustion and cold. He was ready to fall out in the middle of the streets when something familiar came into view.

There was a black car parked in an otherwise empty parking lot outside of a motel. It was his car.

"Anko…" he prayed, limping to the door. He looked around hurriedly. The place was totally empty and was blasting with soft county music. Kabuto growled and turned to the door.

"More please."

He shot around to see a spikey-haired, slouched created holding a sake cup in the air where a bartender was taking his time reaching her. Kabuto slowly approached her, just in case she was drunk enough to start shooting without a second thought like last time. He crept up to the far end of the counter, staring at her haggard appearance.

Her face was flushed from drinking, she'd obviously been here a while, but there was a paleness under her rosy cheeks. Her eyes were angrily drawn down on the cup in her hand, as if nothing could tear them from it.

Except him.

"Is this seat taken?" he teased as he pulled out the seat next to Anko.

She blinked slowly. "Yes, and it'll be filled with your blood if you sit down." She replied without looking up.

He laughed softly, ignoring her warning and taking a seat. "Never took you for one with a sense of humor."

She scoffed and sipped at her cup once more.

Kabuto watched her with uneasiness. "You're a bit too young to be drinking, don't you think?"

"Shove it bastard." Anko snapped. "Just because I didn't blow your head off back there doesn't mean I like you or anything."

"I wasn't trying to-"

Anko slammed her cup down, breaking it into several pieces. "Look you lifeless son of a bitch, go back to your fucking family before do what I wanted to do just this morning!" she jumped up and threw something on the table. "For the drinks." She muttered

Kabuto saw that it was a credit card; **his **credit card.

"Where the Hell did you get this?" he called after her.

"It was in the damn car!" Anko yelled from afar. "Get a freaking wallet."

He groaned and gave it to the awaiting bartender. It was rung up and given back along with a receipt.

"Ninety-nine dollars?!" Kabuto exclaimed. "Anko?!" he jumped out of his seat and ran to the direction she had gone in.

"Room 2B!" the bartender laughed after him.

Kabuto growled and searched for 2B as well as its inhabitant. "Anko!" he yelled he scanned over the doors. He found it and was about to break it down when a sound picked up his attention. He put his ear to the door and listened closes. It sounded like crying.

He cracked the door open slightly and peeked in. Anko was curled up at the end of the bed, sobbing in her knees. Part of him wanted to walk in and comfort him, but it would only result in getting yelled or shot at again.

He closed the door softly and slowly retreated to the bar where the bartender was drying glasses.

"Give me something strong." Kabuto said.

"Girlfriend troubles?" The bartender laughed, placing a bottle of Bora-Bora and a shot-glass down in front of the depressed Kabuto. He had a New Yorker's accent and a face that held years of pain but good humor to cover it up.

He looked at him with a bit of paranoia. "I wouldn't call her that…"

The bartender leaned against the counter. "If ya' want advice from a guy with experience, I'll tell ya'. Just apologize for what ya' did. Don't make some false aptitude that ya' won't do it again, just apologize and if she still hates your guts," he shrugged. "So be it. But, if she forgives ya'…" he rustled around in his apron and brought out a latex condom. "Make up with the girl."

Kabuto groaned and slammed his head down on the table, causing the liquid in his drink to slosh out slightly.

The bartender sang with laughter. "Believe it or not, it actually works!" he twisted around and brought out something. "Look a'here son."

Kabuto slowly lifted his head up to see a picture of a man, probable a younger version of the bartender, a woman with curls, and three children, two girls with hair like the woman and an infant boy with the man's glossy cheeks. "Their…beautiful." Kabuto commented.

"Aren't they." The bartender chuckled. "I took my own advice when I first cheated on my beautiful Tsunade." He said.

Kabuto's interest sparked slightly.

The bartender continued to smile. "I earned my Tenten and Ino from that. Spent some amazing years raising my girls. Little Naruto came along when they grew up, but that was fine with us, it was just more good times."

Kabuto smiled, thinking about Guren and Yūkimaru and about the possible Tenten's and Ino's they could have. "How are they now?" Kabuto asked, just because he was in better spirits.

The bartender laughed again, but this time it was more drained. "Fine I suppose, as fine as you get in Heaven. They died in a shooting four years ago. Up there in that richly neighborhood that young folk like yourself come from all the time. "

Kabuto froze up completely. Oh shit, a shooting?!

"I'm…"

"Sorry?" the bartender finished. He laughed and set the picture aside. "I was sorry to. I was sorry that I was finally able to get the dream house that my Tsunade always wanted so that my girls could live with us while studying for college and we could finish raising little Naruto. But then those damn mobs…they shoot at any house that had a light on after ten p.m. Shot 'em all, except me, I was barely grazed. They got those bastards, that damn Akatsuki mob, but they got away, and left me to bury my three girls and boy…"

Kabuto looked down so many emotions filling him. This man…was like an angel. He was helping him out in a most difficult time and yet he didn't know that he was helping a former member of the very organization that had taken his family out.

He realized now why Anko was so angry at him. He had a family, a living, breathing, loving family while her and this man in front of him where all alone, with exception for a psycho and a few customers here and there.

"Son?" the bartender spoke up again while wiping his eyes with his rag. "Go talk to that girl. Love her and tell her that you'll do what you can. But don't let her hurt for whatever you did," he chuckled a little. "And for God sakes, be careful of the neighborhood you move into."

Kabuto smiled worriedly. "I'll…I will try…sir." He took his credit card back out, ever though he hadn't even taken a sip of the ruined drink.

"On the house." The bartender said. "Your girl gave me more business tonight than I get in a week. Beside, your conversation was all the pay I needed."

Kabuto nodded and stood. "Thank you…for everything. And…" he wanted to give him some kind of worthless reassurance, but he was sick of telling lies, and sick of saying thing that didn't mean anything. "Just thank you."

"Come back by and see ol' Papa J' when you two get settled down, okay?"

"Yes sir." Kabuto said. He took in a deep breath before heading back to the room where Anko was staying.


	6. Lovers?

"Go away Yakushi!" Anko yelled as a response to the knock on the door while Kabuto waited patiently.

"Anko please, I just-"

"For the love of God man, get away from the door!" Anko yelled again.

Kabuto stared at the door, planning out his next move. "Anko, let me talk to you okay?"

"Get lost!"

He gnashed his teeth together and gripped the door impatiently. "Anko…" he shook his head and barged in just in time to see enough of Anko's wet, naked body disappear behind a towel.

"Hey!" Anko screamed, covering herself as best as she could.

"I-I-I-I'm s-sorry!"

"Yeah you are!" she yelled again. "Get out of here will you?"

Kabuto stumbled back and ended up closing the door with his back.

"You're such a klutz!" Anko screamed as she ran to the sanctuary of the bathroom.

"I said I was sorry!"

"That one word is so overused!"

Kabuto was going retort, but he knew Anko held the upper hand. Fighting with a complicated teenager was pointless. He sat down on the end of the bed and waited for her to return.

She came from the bathroom dressed only in a T-shirt with a towel around her neck and paused to stare at him. "I didn't order this room for both of us. Go get your own."

Kabuto sighed and stood, his spot immediately taken by Anko.

"I want to talk." He said.

"We have nothing to talk about." Anko said as she dried her hair roughly; a sign of stress.

"Yeah, we do." Kabuto pressed, sitting in a chair across from her. "I don't want you to hate me."

"To damn late." She mumbled, turning her back to him and crossing her legs.

Kabuto's interest at her bulging, creamy thighs sparked. He sat back and chuckled slightly, earning Anko's disgusted glare.

"What are you snickering about?" she snapped.

"I was just thinking back to how turned on I was to your body the first time I saw you. You were, what, fifteen?" he laughed again, the fear and exhaustion getting to him. "Now that I think about it, I can't believe how sick I was."

Anko stared at him in amused disgust. "You're still sick. Don't get enough of that from your wife?"

Kabuto calmed some, thinking about Guren. "We don't do that too often."

"Say what?" Anko snorted with laughter. She lay back on the bed and howled. "Damn, you must get put in the doghouse a lot, huh?"

Kabuto rolled his eyes. "A good relationship is built on love and trust, not sex." He scratched his head. "Well, in some cases I guess. My parents lived off each other's bodies; it was the only way they stuck together until I graduated high school."

Anko became very quiet all of a sudden. "A good relationship isn't built on sex, huh?" she sat up, the saddest expression on her stunning face. "Tell your partner that." She growled with bitterness. "The longest we went without sex was four days. Four freaking days since the moment I walked into that house."

Kabuto watched her with pity. "You two were lovers?"

Anko's head shot up.

.,.,

"_We're…lovers."_

"_Lovers?"_

"_It's two people who really love each other, only they have to keep it kind of a secret because other people won't approve."_

_.,.,_

Anko grasped her mouth, shaking at the word. She turned a glare on Kabuto, hate in her dark orbs.

"Don't say that word again."

"Which one?"

"The "L" one! Don't…" she shook her head, wanted to forget her dear brother. "Yeah, Orochimaru and I were…intimate." She tried to laugh the pain off. "I came from a religious orphanage where I was told things like sex and profanity were the devil in disguise. Yet, I never felt anything when I did it with him; it just seemed normal. And I've cursed every cuss word in the dictionary so…" she laid back down "I'm pretty much going to Hell."

"No." Kabuto reassured her. "Orochimaru and I are the ones going to Hell; you've suffered enough in this lifetime as it is."

Anko turned on her side and stared at him. Every word that came out of his mouth seemed sincere, but was Kabuto really the Devil in disguise and was deceiving her with false words and promises like Orochimaru had? His eyes…they were so much different than Orochimaru's or the Queen of Hearts that she always carried with her. They held so much pain, but so much love that they were willing to give to anyone.

"Maybe you'll get lucky." Anko said. "You might be able to skip Hell altogether."

Kabuto stared at her, his tired head being held up by one head while the other rested in his lap. He was still lost in her image and every other aspect of her.

His mind wondered to Orochimaru. He had stolen her from him and he felt more betrayed from that than anything. He fell for Anko while he was blowing the heads off of her brothers. It was unfair. He had used her and fed her lies to make her hatred for him alone intensify.

He stood and walked to her cautiously.

She looked up at him curiously. She looked into his eyes once more. They weren't like the Queens or Orochimaru's, they were like hers. They were sad because of the tragedy they had seen, but were alive with the happiness that they had glanced at.

"I'll follow you anywhere." Kabuto whispered, mainly to himself because Anko could never feel the way he felt about her.

Anko's thoughts paused. She realized now why she couldn't find it in her heart to kill him. She couldn't kill family, and Kabuto was just like Itachi in every aspect.

While she was lost in thought, Kabuto took the chance to plant a light kiss on her lips. It was a friendly, pointless kiss, but it met so much to him to be able to finally feel some part of her after all this time. He could smell the strong smell of alcohol radiating off her lips and pulled back. "Goodnight Anko Uchiha."

Anko grasped the back of his neck and kept him from moving.

He was staring at her in fear because the only time she ever touched him was to bring him some kind of pain. But her touch was calmer this time, as if she didn't want to cause him harm for once.

"Anywhere?"

He stared at her, his head spinning due to being held upside down. "…yes."

She sat up, her hand still securely on him. "Kabuto Yakushi, give me one reason to not snap your neck right here and now."

He looked more scared that moment than he had all day. "I…"

She smiled darkly. "Well?"

He met her eyes, the eyes that were just like his. Counting his blessings, he leant down and slowly kissed her again. He tasted the liquor in her mouth and kissed her harder.

She allowed herself to feel it this time. She let herself taste the lips of a killer. The killer she hated, or thought she hated anyway. He was different than Orochimaru in this way. Orochimaru didn't allow her to enjoy the time they spent under the sheets. He simple got what he wanted and left her alone to clean herself up. But Kabuto was taking his time, gaining pleasure for himself but also giving her satisfaction.

He pulled back once more, panting lightly and staring at her hazy face. "Anywhere." He took her again this time, forgetting entirely about the hate she possessed towards him and how close to the gun he really was.

Anko however, didn't stop him. He made her feel something she didn't feel when she was around Orochimaru. She felt…alive. And unused.

He pulled back from her mouth and dared to venture down to her throat, kissing it lightly and rubbing his right thumb over her collarbone while his other kept a hold on her side.

Anko forced him away from her skin, panting while eyeing him dangerously. She noticed the panicked expression on his face and immediately reassured him. "You'd follow me anywhere right?"

He nodded, slightly confused by her motives. He stifled a gasp as Anko ran her hands down his waist.

"How about under these sheets?"

He stared into her eyes. How serious was she? Perhaps this was only a trap to bring out his weakness and a canny way to finally kill him.

But she way her touch was as she tucked a strand piece of hair behind his ear made him think otherwise.

She made a move this time, slowly and murderously kissing him. She tasted like poison. The kind that took forever to kill you. But Kabuto wanted so much more of it.

"Miss Uchiha…Anko…this…you've drunken too much and you're now thinking straight." To his shock, Anko pulled him down and planted a harsh kiss on his lips. He forgot how to breathe when Anko's tongue shot into his mouth and ravaged his insides.

She pulled back for a moment. "Would you rather have this or would you rather have a bullet in your skull?"

Of course, Kabuto chose the first option.

He tried to take things slow, but Anko was rough and dangerous. He was beginning to wonder how Orochimaru had survived her treatment.

The clothes were torn off and clothing of rough kisses and harsh bites were their replacements. He saw the body parts that had caught his attention all that time ago. He ran his hands over every inch of her, electricity sparking from his fingertips due to the friction he was creating.

Anko felt the muscles of his back and sides. For a retired assassin, he was still in pretty good shape. She explored every aspect of him, thumping him every now and again to remind him she was still able to beat him senseless. Soon however, she became famished and clawed at his length, earning as gasp from him.

"Do it." Anko whispered. She was just about out of it by now and her ability to control herself was shot.

Kabuto could barely resist any longer. These sensations were too much for him to bear. "Let me know if I'm hurting you." He whispered in her neck, slowly giving Anko her request.

She held back her whines as he ventured into her over and over again, his speed increasing. He was still trying to be gentle with her, unlike a certain someone she knew. And even though she craved the opposite action, it was nice to be taken care of for once.

He gave in before she did, the day's stress caving in on him. His mind was in shambles as Anko flipped him over to finish the job but waves of ecstasy washed over him as Anko took over him roughly. He didn't even realize he was screaming her name until he contracted a second time. He didn't know how long this went on, but it ended when his grip around Anko's waist gave in and the hard-core Anko dropped down beside him.

They lay in the thick air, their heavy panting creating a lullaby for them both to fall asleep to.

Anko coughed and edged over to the other side of the bed, as if she didn't want to be near him after that.

But Kabuto wanted to have his way for once. He reached over and pulled her to him, despite her angry hiss. He tucked his arm around her, his chest soaking in the sweat on her back. His other hand ran itself through her soaked locks.

Orochimaru never did this to her. He simply shrugged her off when they got done and handed her her gun when she woke up, usually alone, the next morning.

She hated herself though. She had slept with both of Itachi's murders and felt that she had betrayed.

"I love you."

It may have just been an extemporaneous remark due to his dying pleasure, but it made her so happy to hear it.

Orochimaru never said it. Itachi had only said it one. Her parents said it in a different way.

Kabuto was the first to make her feel loved.

The only problem was that she couldn't tell him she loved him back.


	7. Just stop

Something had to be wrong. She was sleeping without any clothes on, a feeling she had grown use to, and the man next to her was actually **holding **her. She couldn't be in Orochimaru's bed; Orochimaru **never **held her like this person was.

She slowly opened one eye, wanting to still have the element of surprise on her side. She was more than shocked to see Kabuto Yakushi's, the man she had wanted to kill for the past year, lying shirtless and possibly more beside her with his head on her shoulder and his arms wrapped tightly around her.

She twitched, but chose to remain quiet as she slid from his grip. She kept her eyes on him as she searched for the clothes she had thrown around when she drunkenly stumbled into the room to bawl her eyes out for a few minutes before going to shower in order to kill her hangover. The rest of the night was divided into retentions of…oh shoot.

She gawked at Kabuto's sleeping form. He looked like the most pleased man in the world.

"I have got to stop drinking." She sighed and looked around, noticing immediately the only thing she was missing.

She gently lifted the pillow Kabuto was sleeping on and pulled out her prized pistol. She checked the holes, a habit she had, and once again stared at Kabuto. This was the opportunity she had strived on for weeks. He was defenseless, naked, and she, she was hung-over enough to gather some boldness and pull the trigger for once.

All it took was a slipup and she could kill this monster for what he did.

Anko gasped and the gun toppled from her hand. She couldn't remember why she wanted him dead.

…..

She was gone when Kabuto, nude and stretched out semi-hoping to feel her there, awoke. On the pillow she had lain on the night before was a piece of paper, folded into a neat square.

_Just because I didn't put a bullet in your ass while you were sleeping doesn't mean I've forgiven you for anything. Stay sharp and get back to that fucking family of yours before I change my mind._

_-Anko M._

He smirked and held the note against his chest. He had actually slept with the girl who had been fueling his nightmares for so many sleepless nights.

A bomb dropped inside his stomach. Guren. Damn it what was he going to do about Guren?! He got out of bed and hurriedly searched for his belongings, simultaneously thinking of a close to truthful excuse he could give her for his twenty-four hour absence.

Papa J' was at the bar when he went out. He looked up from his work and smirked.

"From what I heard, it sounded like things went pretty good."

Kabuto forced a sincere smile. He took the welcomed seat at the bar and tried to gather his thoughts as Papa J' sat down a glass of orange juice tempered with something else. "They…did. Is she still here?"

The bartender shook his head. "Nope. Left this morning, but she did want me to tell you that she'd be seeing you again soon to…do justice?" he burst out into laughter. "I'd like to know what **kind** of justice!"

Kabuto twitched and stood, taking a swag of the juice. "I really should get going. Thank you very much for all your support."

Papa J's laughter died out. "Actually son, it's you I need to thank."

"Pardon?"

The glass Papa J was drying was put down. "Last night, I was thinking of going around back and putting a bullet in my head. But then that young lady of yours walked in and I had to put that idea on hold." He slowly looked to Kabuto. "And then you showed up…"

Kabuto gulped down the sour pulp. Great, he had killed several lives yet he had just saved one.

Papa J laughed again, "Maybe you two will pop out a few kiddos like me and my Tsunade."

Kabuto spat out the liquid as a horrifying thought came to him. He jumped up and dug through his pockets, feeling the object he was loathing. "Damn it…" he growled as he threw the unused condom down. "I got to go."

Papa J's chortle followed him. "Don't forget about stopping by sometime."

"…Yes…"

_Not going to happen._

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

A high force took care of him that morning. After an hour of walking, a truck driver had picked Kabuto up and drove him back to Otogakure where he ran the rest of the way home.

Guren opened the door the second he entered the gate and met him halfway. "Where have you been?" she demanded in a worried tone.

Kabuto slung his arms around her and kissed her roughly, much to her surprise. "I'm so sorry. I was in an accident."

Guren pulled back. "Accident?! How?"

"I…pulled over onto a cliff and it fell apart right under me. It was only a few feet, but it completely screwed up the car."

Guren gave him a gently peck before trapping him in a hug once more. "The car is replaceable dear, not you."

Kabuto smiled for a moment, but then the events from the night before sped across his mind and he frowned, guilt eating at him. Guren was an amazing woman and deserved better than trash like him.

"Dad!"

Kabuto looked up to see Yūkimaru bounding towards him, a fishing pole in hand.

Guren laughed. "He's been going on and on about fishing with his "daddy"."

Kabuto smiled and ruffled Yūkimaru's clean locks. "How about this weekend?"

"Really? That sounds great dad!"

The sound of a phone ringing from the house redirected the family's attention.

"I'll get it." Guren said, but was stopped by Kabuto.

"I need to freshen up anyway, I'll get it." He ran up the stairs and hurried to the phone, catching it by its eighth ring. "Hello?"

"_Hey partner. I need to know where Anko is."_

Kabuto's blood ran cold at the familiar buzz of Orochimaru's tone. He swallowed. "A-Anko?"

"_Yes," Orochimaru hissed teasingly. "She never came home last night. And judging by the fact that I'm speaking to you right now, she didn't kill you either."_

Kabuto's free hand clenched, his defensive nature suddenly rising. "Stay away from her you son of a bitch!"

Orochimaru chuckled on the other line. _"Sorry Kabuto, but she belonged to me first." _His laughed rattled Kabuto, the only escape from it was the dead dial tone as the Orochimaru hung up the phone.

"Orochimaru?!" Kabuto screamed into the beeping phone. "Orochimaru, don't you dare hurt her! You understand me you bastard!? Stay the fuck away from her!"

"_If you'd like to make a call, please hang up and try again."_

Kabuto dropped to his knees instead, the phone colliding beside him. His mind swarmed with the things Orochimaru could do to that poor girl. He had a feeling death would be the worst of her problems.

.,.,.,.

A month had passed since the horrific incidents. Kabuto's life slowly spiraled back in control. He and Yūkimaru became closer every day and spent every moment they could together before Yūkimaru had to go off to register for school. He and Guren had finally talked about having a baby of their own, just something to make the paradise around them official. They had a few problems however, and based on a doctor's advice, decided to put it off for a little while.

He was currently alone, having a light drink by the pool as she shimmering waters became darker with the setting sun. There was something less deadly about it, less sinister. Maybe now that he knew the truth about the former residents of it, the darkness couldn't eat at him.

"That's it then." He whispered out loud, watching the teardrops on his glass fall. "I don't see ghosts anymore."

.,.,.,.

Anko hacked up another load of warm, acidy vomit. Her lungs were burning and she was shaking so much she couldn't even move from the toilet. She could only let her head fall on the cool seat and wait for she waves of nausea to recede.

She pushed herself back with the last of her strength and curled on the floor, gripping her stomach tightly. "What's wrong with me!?" she wailed into the empty hotel room.

She had been like this for the last couple of days, so sick that she could only crawl to the bathroom. She wondered if maybe someone had broke into the room and snuck something in her food while she was out. But she had made sure no one could find her, even someone as swift as Orochimaru. She even checked in under an assumed name to make double sure no one could find her. So if she wasn't poisoned, what was it?

Her eyes widened when a very blurry, but realistic thought came to her. It was something she had learned frequently about in the orphanage, considering that the nuns didn't think there was anyone insane enough to adopt her. But she and Itachi did there research when they became obsessed with the "lovers" thing and learned about the consequences of sex.

She scoffed, clutching her stomach and rubbing the creature that could possibly be in her. "So…who's your daddy kid?" she whispered.

It couldn't be Orochimaru's, she only had to think of his face to figure that out. Orochimaru knew the first time he took her clothes off that she could become pregnant and took major precautions. There had been several close calls, but Orochimaru thought there was no way he could have made a mistake.

But then, there was her drunken moment with Kabuto Yakushi…

She slammed her head onto the floor; if she didn't have the heart to kill him then, she did now.

But maybe she wouldn't have to. If she found him and told him, maybe he'd help her Jse it.

Anko quivered with faith. Kabuto was as close to a gentleman as one could get, so he'd help her without a second thought. But…what about that family of his, the family he actually **wanted**? He wouldn't give it up for the likes of her.

She sat up, gripping the toilet to hoist herself to her feet. "I guess were at it alone kid." She sighed. She flopped down onto her bed, thinking the whole matter though. She wasn't the least bit scared, despite being a barely sixteen year old mother, but something inside her twisted and turned each time she thought about the being inside her. Maybe those were "motherly instincts"; like the ones Mikoto showed that night when she used herself as a shield for her babies.

"How am I going to do this mom?" Anko sighed. She turned onto her side and hoped that sleep would bring her an answer. Barely five minutes into her nap, the phone beside her ring. Anko groaned and picked it up, knowing that if she didn't the manager would come up here himself.

"Room 201." Anko sighed.

"_Hello my dear."_

Anko's blood ran cold at the hum of the silky voice on the other end of the line. She shot up and gripped the phone tighter to her ear. "How the Hell did you find me?"

"_Now Anko, I thought I taught you how to greet your superiors."_

"How did you know where I was?!" Anko growled again.

"_Heh. I always keep track of what belongs to me dear girl, you know that." _

Anko slowly stood and reached under her pillow to bring out the handgun she always carried. She moved to the window, the phone still at her ear, and tore the curtain open. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of Orochimaru just outside her window, waving at her as if they were next-door-neighbors.

"_You don't look to happy to see me dear." _

Anko threw the phone down and ran to the door. She tripped over the cord and spent a few seconds untangling herself before throwing the door open to shoot Orochimaru. She almost pulled the trigger but saw that he was nowhere to be seen. She lowered the weapon only slightly and moved back inside, locking the door as she did.

"Was it…just an illusion?" she whispered out loud. She looked down at the phone and could just barely hear the dead dial tone. She sighed and picked it up, replacing it in its cradle. She laid back down but kept the cool piece of steal close to her.

The phone rang again, and Anko felt like screaming. She picked it up. "What do you want?!" she screamed through a sob.

"_Meet me at our apartment; we'll finish things there."_

The line went dead again and Anko snatched the cord out of the wall and threw it across the room. She dropped lifelessly into the mattress and pressed the gun to her head, wanting so badly to pull the trigger.

Was Orochimaru going to try to kill her?

She couldn't let that happen. It wasn't her life she had to worry about; it was the one growing inside her.

It was **Kabuto's **child she had to protect.

.,.,.,.,.,

_Midnight_

Kabuto groggily awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. He felt for his glasses so that he could answer it before it woke Guren up. He yawned and answered the screaming tool. "Yakushi residents…"

The other line was silent.

"Hello?" Kabuto said again. His heart raced slightly as an old paranoia came over him. He was about to slam the phone down when a cough on some sort spoke up.

"_Kabuto wait…don't hang up…"_

Kabuto's senses fully sparked as the familiar voice flowed to his ears. "Anko? Anko is that you?" He was answered by a laugh.

"_Yeah, it's me…"_

He smiled slightly. "…How you doing?" Once again, he earned a moment of silence before he earned his answer.

"_Okay…I guess…look Yakushi…I…I'm just calling to…"_

Kabuto heard a burst of static that covered up a sob. "Anko? Where are you, I can barely hear."

"_I'm outside Orochimaru's place…"_

"What?!" Kabuto yelled, jumping out of bed. "What are you thinking, get away from there!"

"_He's going to try to kill me...and...someone else." Anko whispered. "So I have to get to him first."_

He heard the faint sound of car horns and other outside noises, but he wanted to hear Anko's voice. "…Anko wait! Please talk to me, reconsider!"

././.

Anko pulled Kabuto's shrieking pleas away from her ear and placed it back on the payphone's receiver. The coldness in her stomach was deeper now, but she felt just a little better that she got to talk to him one last time before she went into open fire. She patted her stomach. "Don't be afJd little guy, mommy's going to be all right."

With that, she pulled out her gun and dashed into Orochimaru's home.

././.

Kabuto stared into the moonlight in fear as the dial tone became more increasing and unbearable. He dropped the phone back in its place and rushed around for clothing.

"Kabuto, what's wrong?"

Kabuto glanced at his wife, who he had woken during his spur. He quickly thought of a lie; he was not ready to tell her about Anko. "There's a problem at the shop, just a couple of kids creating a ruckus and breaking a few windows." He pulled on his shirt and walking back to her, giving her a quick kiss on the head. "I'll be back in the morning."

Guren hummed something and went back to sleep.

Kabuto watched her for a moment. A voice in his mind told him to crawl back into the warm covers with her and let Anko do what she felt she had to do, but of course, he ignored it and ran out the door.

.,.,.,,.,,.,..,.,,

Anko's footsteps echoed through the seemingly empty apartment as she traveled up the stairs to the room where the monster laid. It seemed odd, coming into the bedroom where she and he had spent many… rememberable nights at. However, she really wasn't going to miss them. She realized during her month of solitude how stupid she had been. Orochimaru was only using her for his demise and sexual needs; he never cared about her.

She came to the door and pressed her ear to the dense wood. There wasn't any sound, but she knew Orochimaru was in there. She kicked the door down and pointed the gun towards the bed where Orochimaru was sitting so comfortably.

He looked up at her and smirked, that sly, lustful look in his eyes. "Well well, if it isn't Anko." He stood. "I was starting to think you had forgotten about our little reunion."

Anko stared at him coldly, the gun just itching to go off. However, her instincts weren't as agreeable for she didn't pull the trigger when he walked up to her and ran a hand over her burning cheek.

"You're burning up dear…" he drawled, one of his hands sliding down. "Maybe we should remove some of this hot clothing to cool you off."

Anko threw him off of her, pulling the trigger and sadly missing him. "How fucking dare you!" she yelled at him.

Orochimaru picked himself up and hid his irritation with a ruthful smirk. "I see that you're still mad at me for the bullet I planted in your chest."

"I'm not here because of that." Anko snapped. "You've been lying to me all this time!"

"I don't quite get-"

Anko pulled the trigger again barely missed his arm. "I missed on purpose; don't ask me to do it again." She reloaded it and continued. "You told me Kabuto was the one who slaughtered my family that night, but you just happened to forget to mention that **you **tagged along!"

Orochimaru remained completely impassive. He had known that this subject would come up eventually and had prepared for it.

"You killed them too!"

Sounds of gunshots rang through her ears.

"I remember now…you killed my mother!" the gun in her hand flinched. "You killed her and then laughed as she bled to death!"

"And where were you!?" he yelled over her screams. He smirked at her surprised expression. "Where were you, when I blew her bJns out, Anko?"

Anko's mind went blank as struggled to remember what happened that night. But it didn't take long.

.,.,.

_The footsteps were louder now, just outside the door in fact. Mikoto was press against them so tightly that Anko was smothered with her heat as well as her brother's and her own. Itachi suddenly grabbed her arm, his grip sweaty and shaky. _

"_Anko," he whispered. "there's a closet to your right. I want you to get in it, and stay very quiet."_

"_What?" Anko hissed. "What about you, and Sasuke, and Mom?"_

"_It'll look suspicious if we all just suddenly disappear. But you'll be fine."_

_Another crash made them jump._

"_But what if-"_

"_Don't you get it?!" Itachi hissed. "They won't even be looking for __**you**__! No one knows that you live with us."_

_The knob to the room twisted._

_Itachi jumped up and grabbed Anko, dragging her to the closet and throwing her in it._

"_Itachi!" she squeaked. Itachi crouched down and kissed her on the lips, a first on his part. He stopped as quickly as he had begun and closed Anko in. He ran back to his confused mother and grabbed Sasuke just as the door opened and a dark figure with a shiny gun entered…_

_.,.,.,_

Anko dropped to her knees, her gun still clasped tightly in her grip.

"You hid to let them catch the blunt." Orochimaru answered. "You ran away like a cowardly bitch."

Anko's tear-stained face shot up. "Shut up!" she screamed at him. "Just shut up!"

Orochimaru leered. "Truth hurts, don't it sweetheart?"

Anko jumped up and ran as fast as she could out of the house. She would blow her own bJns out if she stayed another moment.

Orochimaru watched her out the window and licked his lips, slithering after her.

"_Please please please please…" _Anko found herself praying as she ran through the dark, empty streets. She had no idea where she was going, neither less were she could go. She wanted Itachi. She wanted Kabuto. She wanted Orochimaru to die. She wanted her mother, and her father, and her little brother. She wanted so many things that she could never have.

Her lungs were burning now so she had to stop, causing her to lose balance and drop to her knees. She was sobbing now. She couldn't help it; she had been holding it in for too long. She absently rubbed at her stomach. This was part of the reason she went after Orochimaru that morning. She wanted to kill him to revenge her fallen family as well as give the child inside her a chance at life.

She stood and stared at the building in front of her. She had instinctually ran to the Cathedral. Even with lacking faith, this was one of the few places she was drawn to. She felt a sting of evil though the godliness and shot around. Orochimaru was watching her, as he always was. She glared at him and charged into the church, cranking her gun as she did.

_**(WHOA, CRAZY LADY IN CHUCH!)**_

The priest looked up as the door slammed. He smiled, well familiar with the face that had entered into the candle-lit room. "Hello again Miss Anko." He greeted. "A little early for Sunday services isn't it?"

Anko stared at him impassively. She really hated to do what she was about to do, but she didn't need anyone else to get hurt because of her mistakes. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at him. He turned pale.

"Leave this place." She ordered. "Do not come back."

The priest nodded and slid past her, his glassy eyes still locked on her.

"Thank you." Anko whispered, watching the door close as he hurriedly left. She then turned to the Virgin Mary statue and knelt down. "Sorry about that," she apologized a little sarcastically. "I just didn't want one of your followers to watch something like this." She was quiet after that, trying to put together what she wanted to say. "Listen, I know I've fallen so hard this time, but I need your help right now. If not for me, then how about for this baby, okay?"

The Virgin seemed to be listening.

"You had a kid too, you know what it's like to have one and then have it taken away. Please, don't let me go through that."

The sound of the door opening brought her out of her pleading state. The incoming footsteps entered, and the door closed once more.

Anko slowly stood, her back to the person entering. "Please," she whispered once more. "please keep it safe." She turned to Orochimaru and pointed her gun at him, only to discover that he had one aimed at her as well.

"Don't be too hasty dear." Orochimaru jeered. "You might do something you'll regret later on."

"The only thing I regret," Anko said dangerously "is not doing this sooner, you murderous lout!"

"Watch your mouth, we're in a church."

"Like you care." Anko scoffed.

Orochimaru suddenly lowered his gun, the most sincere look on his. "You're right, I don't care, because every action I've done was never governed by the idols you so strongly worship." He nodded towards the Virgin Mary to emphasize what he meant, earning a glare from Anko. "How can anyone look up to something that doesn't look them directly in the eye?"

"It's a little something called faith." Anko spat. "Try getting some."

"Faith, my dear girl?"

"It's what I thought you were the day you came into the hospital and told me that horrid lie." Her free hand absently slipped into her pocket and fingered at the Queen. "It's what brought Kabuto to me so that I could learn the truth." She gulped and forced her next sentence out. "It's what my child is going to grow up on."

Orochimaru's face went pale.

"I'm pregnant Orochimaru, and after today, I'm not going to pick up another gun if I can help it. My child is going to be Jsed by the grace of God. But first," she unlocked the safety. "I'm going to wipe you out so that my kid doesn't have to know what kind of a monster my **"lover" **was."

Orochimaru just watched her, shock mixed with confusion etched on his face.

Anko smirked. "Nighty-night." She pulled the trigger.

POP.

Anko's eyes widened when nothing came from the chamber. She pulled the trigger again and was given nothing. She quickly opened her gun to discover the horrible sight of empty shells. Orochimaru began to laugh and she looked up, his_ full_ gun back on her.

"Don't worry darling, you weren't cut out for motherhood anyway."

\./././.

Kabuto slammed on brakes as a man ran out in front of his car. "Damn!" he cried, jumping out to make sure he hadn't killed anyone.

"Help!" the man scream, grabbing Kabuto's shirt.

"Look sir I-" he saw the white collar around the man's neck. "Oh, my deepest apologies Father."

"Please, there's a woman inside the Cathedral with a gun! I'm afJd she's going to shoot herself!"

"Wait," Kabuto gasped, gripping the holy man for dear life. "A girl? What does she look like?"

The priest managed to sputter out an answer. "She's young, very young. She comes to the church at least once a week to pray but…oh please help me. I don't want to see her die like that."

Kabuto pulled away and ran towards the church up the street. "Anko!" he screamed through the emptiness just in case she was able to hear her. "Anko hold on!"

./././.

Anko let her useless tool fall to the ground. Her mind was racing for ideas, but the only thing that came to her was stalling.

She pulled out the Queen of Hearts, her only weapon. She held it up so that Orochimaru could see it. "Why did you give this to me?"

Orochimaru smirked. He knew what she was doing and decided to play along; he wasn't it too much of a hurry to kill her anyway. "It was just a random act of persuasion; something to draw you to me."

Anko stared into the Queens eyes. "All this time, it had been about you hypnotizing me, about bJnwashing me?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "You fell for it gracefully, my dear."

Anko ripped the Queen in two, throwing the shreds on the ground. "Why didn't you leave me in the hospital!? Why did you have to put me through all this!?"

Orochimaru tilted his head in a questionable matter. "You really are beautiful you know."

Anko gawked at him. "What?!"

Orochimaru chuckled. He wanted to touch her but couldn't let his guard down. "Do you want to know what I was feeling the night Kabuto and I slaughtered your family?"

Anko gulped. Honestly, she didn't.

"I felt so invigorated to watch them go down. Call me sick all you want my dear, but that's how I felt. To watch people die, especially people as young as those little boys, is really quite interesting."

Anko glared at him. "Shut up."

"The oldest boy was my favorite." Orochimaru continued. "He was filled with so much fire, so much hate. He was a **delicious **opponent."

"Stop it!" Anko screamed, covering her ears. "Just stop already just shut the fuck up!" She dropped to the floor and blocked the sounds out.

Orochimaru stared at her. "And then I opened the closet…" he gripped the gun to keep it from falling from his sweaty hands. "I wanted to blow your head off, but something else other than your blood caught my attention. I wanted your body Anko, and I finally got it. I still want it."

Anko glared up at him, still able to hear every word that came out of his vile lips. Her glare stayed as Orochimaru crouched in front of her, his familiar head drowning her.

"I think you started to want it to," his hand brushed her cheek. "didn't you?"

Anko looked away from him. "Don't give yourself too much credit; I did what I had to do to get my information."

"That's very unfortunate." Orochimaru growled. "I can already see that there's a very little chance of you coming to your senses and coming back with me."

Anko nodded. "I'm through with you."

Orochimaru sighed and backed up, getting his gun ready. "Such a pity, I was hoping to get one more in before I blew your head off in your sleep, but oh well." He angled it at her head. "Give my regards to Kabuto when he joins you."

Anko smirked suddenly, causing Orochimaru to pause. "You know," Anko said "Maybe if I had just gone after him myself instead of following you around, I would have gotten to know what a really okay guy he was."

Orochimaru arched an eyebrow. "You've forgiven him?"

"No," Anko laughed. "I've simply let it go." Her hand rubbed her stomach added to herself, _"For my kid's sake."_

Orochimaru shook his head. "I'll let him know that before I kill him."

Anko kept her eyes on him. She was not afJd to die. She had said goodbye to Kabuto, prayed for her soul as well as her child's, and would see her beloved family in a moment. "Bring it."

Orochimaru smirked; he did not have to be told twice.

The doors behind them burst open. "OROCHIMARU!"

Orochimaru turned around just in time to see Kabuto pull out a gun and point it at him.

"Anko, move!"

Anko jumped behind the Virgin Mary statue and listened as the gunshots went off.

Kabuto ducked behind an alter as a bullet grazed his head. He waited until he heard Orochimaru re-load his gun before he jumped up and shot a bullet stJght in Orochimaru's chest.

The evil man gasped as he hit the floor, withering for a few seconds before stopping completely.

The church went quiet, with exception of Kabuto's heavy breathing. He slowly stood, his gun poised at Orochimaru's head. He walked over to him and walked over him. His eyes were closed and for the first time since Kabuto had met him, looked peaceful.

Kabuto sighed in relief and put his gun away. He looked up to see Anko edging out from behind the statue to him.

They stared at each other, like long-lost friends.

"You've been working out." Anko commented, stepping forward.

"And you look as if you haven't slept in days." Kabuto retorted, meeting her.

She stared at Orochimaru, the man who had taught her everything plus some; the man who had shared a bed with her and taught her to kill a man in several creative ways. He was dead, and Anko was overflowed with happiness.

She turned back to Kabuto. "Why…"

Kabuto reached out cautiously and rubbed her cheek. "Because sorry isn't enough."

Anko smiled and blinked back a few tears. She hit him playfully in the shoulder before grabbing him and kissing him on the lips. He responded a second later.

Neither one of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them with shock and malice. Orochimaru didn't know if it was hurt or jealously that was running through him, but whatever it was, it burned. That child in Anko womb…it wasn't **his**. It was **Kabuto's**! They had slept together!

His fingers circled the gun and picked it up, pointing it at Anko' stomach. "Deceptive bitch…"

Anko pulled from Kabuto just in time to see the gun pointed at her. She had barely enough action time to grab Kabuto's weapon and level it with Orochimaru's sick smirk.

"ANKO!"

The triggers were pulled, and a pool of blood surrounded the Queen of Heart's remains as a sob went off elsewhere.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,  
><em><strong><br>Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me  
>Lying on the floor surrounded, surrounded<br>Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you?  
>Just a little late, you found me, you found me!<strong>_

Why'd you have to wait to find me, to find me?


	8. Sorry

_**Sorry is and overused expression for a lot of people, but in some cases, it is the last word that is ever spoken to someone. If you love that person, tell them you're sorry that they have to walk out of your door. It takes the pain away for a little while.**_

-RK

_**././…/…**_

The mountains and cliffs up ahead blocked out the sun so much that if the waters off to her left weren't sparkling, Anko would have thought it was still nighttime.

But really, she didn't care if the world was ending right then and there. All she cared about was getting the man beside her home.

She glanced at him. "We're almost there, okay?"

Kabuto didn't answer. His glassy haze was locked on the sunrise, divided in parts due to the optical illusion his broken glasses lens gave off. His arms and legs were limp, but he probably wouldn't have used them for anything else if they weren't.

"Yūkimaru…I…he… was…just…beginning…to…like me…"

"Shh," Anko shushed gently. "Save your strength okay?"

"And Guren…" Kabuto continued. He tried to think of something to tell Anko about his wife, but what else could he say other than that she was an amazing woman who had enough heart to give a monster like him a chance? He found something though.

"I promised…I'd stay with her until…the day I died…I really didn't want it to… be this soon..."

Anko looked down at the massive, bloody gash that took up half of the left side of Kabuto's body. She felt tears sting her eyes and looked away. Damn it! Rule one of being an assassin: never put your **damn** gun down!

But Kabuto was really to blame; she should have stopped the idiot before he jumped in front of a bullet that had her name on it.

"Tell her that, not me." Anko scowled when really she wanted to hold on to every word he was saying. In a way, she felt like she owed him that much. She had caused him and Orochimaru, probably the closes thing to a friend to each other either one of them had, to betray one another for the likes of her.

Kabuto laughed brokenly at her comment. "I hope I get to, Anko…I really…do…" he looked at her and saw the grief on her face. "You can…be part of…our family…you know. Guren…won't …mind…"

Anko gripped the steering wheel tightly and eased down on the gas a little more. She really hoped so as well. She didn't have the heart to tell him that he had a very slim chance of recovering from that gunshot wound. But she knew that maybe if he had hopes, his chances would increase and maybe he would survive.

Besides, thanks to her mindless thinking and sharp aim, Orochimaru wasn't around to muck anything up now. She could still feel his blood on her skin and the terror that radiated off of him when her bullet embedded itself into the man's head, ending him.

She smiled, a glassy tear of pride and hurt running down her cheek. "I'm sure you will, Kabuto."

"Do you think…she'd hate me…if I said…I…loved…**you**…"

Anko sobbed, biting down on her lip. "I've seen…the way she looks at you." Anko cried. "There's no doubt in my mind…that…she wouldn't forgive you."

Kabuto's eyes slowly began to close. "That's great…" the sun was replaced by his own darkness. "That's…"

Anko's tears continued to flow as his silence became more and more frequent. She finally had to pull over because her vision was so blurry.

She threw her door open and walked over to the bridge, leaning over it and crying softly.

"I'm sorry Kabuto…I'm so sorry…" she wiped one of her wet hand on her stomach, over the new life, Kabuto's life, developing inside of her. "Itachi…look after him for me…okay?"


End file.
